Turkish parliament adopted a law allowing Finland to join NATO

 Turkish Parliament approves Finland's membership in NATO.

 

ANKARA: On Thursday, the Turkish parliament adopted a law allowing Finland to join NATO, paving the door for the nation to join the Western defence alliance while the war in Ukraine rages. After Hungary's legislature approved a similar law earlier this week, Turkey's parliament became the last of the alliance's 30 members to ratify Finland's membership.

 

Earlier in March, President Tayyip Erdogan stated that Finland had won Turkey's approval after making good commitments to crack down on organisations viewed as terrorists by Ankara and to open up defence exports. After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Finland and Sweden wanted to join NATO. Hungary and Turkey, though, have slowed down the process.

 

Newcomers must be approved by the parliaments of all NATO countries. After the Turkish parliament's vote, the Finnish government released a statement saying that joining NATO would help peace and security in the Baltic Sea region and Northern Europe. Sweden, a neighbour of Finland, is still waiting for Turkey to approve its application for membership because Ankara believes Sweden has not done enough to repress those it views as terrorists. Last year, a deal on the subject was agreed upon by the three nations.

 

The Finnish measure had last week been overwhelmingly passed by the Turkish Parliament's foreign affairs committee. The legislative process was ongoing as Turkey gears up for parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14. The addition of Finland would be the alliance's first enlargement since North Macedonia's accession in 2020.

 

Sweden should take extra action against Kurdish terrorist supporters and members of the network that Ankara believes is responsible for a 2016 coup attempt, according to Turkey, which has consistently demanded this of Sweden. Both groups are regarded as terrorist organisations in Turkey. The development of Sweden and Turkey's negotiations has been slow, particularly after several disagreements centred on street rallies by pro-Kurdish groups in Stockholm.

 

 

The U.S. State Department praised Turkey for ratifying Finland's membership and urged it to do the same for Sweden. According to a department official, "Sweden and Finland are both strong, capable partners who share NATO's principles and will strengthen the Alliance and contribute to European security."

 

Just after the Turkish vote, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin declared: "Finland stands with Sweden now and in the future and supports its application." According to Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO, he pleaded with Turkey and Hungary to approve both applications. Hungary has not yet scheduled a vote on Sweden's candidature.

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